South Africa v Scotland: Scott Johnson denies his injury-plagued team are a soft touch

Having named another three new caps in his team to face South Africa in
Nelspruit on Saturday, Scotland coach Scott Johnson struck a defiant note as
he countered suggestions that his side had been physically outmuscled in
their 27-17 loss to Samoa in Durban last weekend.

New order: Scotland will put out a much-changed line-up against South AfricaPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

“Our players are not soft,” said Johnson angrily. “We were up against a physical side on a fast deck, but a lot of our boys hadn’t played for a long time and people forget that.

“But there’s certainly not a lack of character or anything like that and they’re not not soft. There’s plenty of will there.”

Even so, Johnson has signaled an intention to take a more confrontational approach with the choice of the abrasive Glasgow lock Tim Swinson for the game against the Springboks. While Swinson’s club-mates Peter Murchie and Tommy Seymour might owe their debuts to Johnson’s willingness to experiment, Swinson’s wins his first cap for tactical reasons and on the strength of his uncompromising physical style.

“It was the way I was taught to play the game by my school coach,” said Swinson, the coach in question being former England hooker John Olver. “It’s something that seems to have worked well for me during my professional career. I try to base my game on physicality.”

The three newcomers brings to nine the total number of players blooded in the international arena during Scotland’s involvement n the Castle Lager Test Series, matching the number who gained first caps on the short tour to North America in 2002.

In fact, that total may even be exceeded, as hooker Fraser Thomson and prop Gordon Reid, who flew out to join the squad on Wednesday, are on standby as cover for Steve Lawrie and Euan Murray.

“We’re sore. We’re bumped and bruised. I’ve never seen an injury toll like that,” said Johnson of the aftermath to the Samoa game. “I half-expected the referee to come in injured as well. It’s amazing. It shows that it was a physical encounter and we’ve lost quite a few and our depth has been tested.

“We know that, but as I’ve said all along we need to make sure our base is broadened and some diamonds will come out of this tour. This is a great opportunity to play against a leading team in world rugby on their own soil in front of a partisan crowd. A wonderful opportunity and we’ll be up for it.”

With Kelly Brown among the group of players already ruled out of the rest of the tour, Greig Laidlaw, the Edinburgh scrum-half, will lead the side against the Springboks. Laidlaw will become Scotland’s 113th Test match captain when he leads the team out at the Mbombela Stadium.

Edinburgh confirmed the signing of Scotland and Bath full-back Jack Cuthbert on a two-year deal.

The 25-year-old, who also plays at wing, becomes the latest powerful addition to the club's back three, joining fellow internationals Tim Visser and Nikki Walker.

Cuthbert passed a medical last Tuesday and returns to Murrayfield on Monday to begin pre-season preparations with his new club.

He said: "I'm really excited. It's a fresh challenge for me. I'm coming into a completely different environment from Bath where I've spent the past seven or eight years.

"It's a change of league with a very different style of rugby. The Premiership is very much a physical affair while there's a great style of running rugby brandished in the RaboDirect PRO12, with the physicality right up there with the best leagues in Europe.

"This [Murrayfield] is where I made my Scotland debut and I'd love to get the chance to play more Test rugby but I'm only focusing on Edinburgh just now.

"First and foremost I want to make sure I do the simple things well; train hard, get as much game time and do as well as I can for the Edinburgh Rugby."